We’re down to the last couple days in the regular season….

North W L Pct. GB
1 Purcellville 25 15 0.625
2 New Market 23 16 0.590 1.5
3 Strasburg 20 19 0.513 4.5
4 Winchester 20 20 0.500 5
5 Front Royal 17 24 0.415 8.5
6 Woodstock 14 26 0.350 11
  • Purcellville- 2 games left- New Market, @Winchester- clinched top two playoff spot, will clinch tie for first with one win or one NM loss. Can not win overall top seed.
  • New Market- 3 games left- @Purcellville, Woodstock, @Strasburg- 2.5 games in front of Strasburg for #2 in the North, 1.5 behind Purcellville for 1st. A win tonight over the Cannons will make things very interesting. One win OR one Strasburg loss will clinch at least 2nd place.
  • Strasburg- 3 games left- @Woodstock, @Front Royal, New Market. Half game ahead of Winchester for 3rd seed, still has shot at #2, but needs help.
  • Winchester- 2 games left- @Charlottesville, Purcellville- remaining games against the best teams in the league. Can catch Strasburg, but 3rd place is the best the Royals can do.
  • Front Royal- 1 game left- Strasburg- Eliminated from playoffs.
  • Woodstock- 2 games left- Strasburg, @New Market- Eliminated from playoffs.
South W L Pct. GB
1 Charlottesville 30 10 0.750
2 Harrisonburg 20 20 0.500 10
3 Waynesboro 20 21 0.488 10.5
4 Staunton 19 21 0.475 11
5 Covington 12 28 0.300 18
  • Charlottesville- 2 games left- Winchester, Staunton- clinched 1st in South and overall #1 seed. Won 30th game last night, joining 11 other teams who have won 30 regular season games since the 2001 season.
  • Harrisonburg- 2 games left- @Staunton, Covington- half game ahead of Waynesboro in the loss column, huge game vs Staunton tonight. A Turk win will clinch a top 3 finish.
  • Waynesboro- 1 game left- Covington- 1 loss behind the Turks, while a half game ahead of Staunton. One win AND one Staunton loss will clinch at least 3rd place for the Generals.
  • Staunton- 2 games left- Harrisonburg, @Charlottesville- .5 games behind Waynesboro, after big win last night. Staunton still has a shot to finish 2nd.
  • Covington- 2 games left- @Waynesboro, @Harrisonburg. Jacks are eliminated from the playoffs.

Playoff Tiebreakers

Thanks to Dave Norman, I have a digital copy of the league rules for tiebreakers. There is a strong possibility that they will have to be used this year, so let’s refresh our thinking…

Breaking Division Ties & Determining Team Seeds

a. In the event of ties, no team shall win a division or be eliminated from post-season play except as outlined below:

(1) If two or more teams are tied for first place they will be designated co-champions of the Division. If two or more teams are tied for Second Place, Third Place, or Fourth, best head-to-head record shall determine higher seeds and automatic spot in playoffs. If regular season games are even in head-to-head competition, it goes to the head-to-head against the No. 1 seed in the standings of combined divisions. If still tied it comes down the standing list head-to-head to the next highest seed in the Division standings.

(2) The President shall have the final authority in this matter.

(3) The highest seed for the Championship round shall be determined by:

(a) First: Best regular season record

(b) Second: Best record in head-to-head competition

(c) Third: It goes to the head-to-head against the No. 1 seed in the standings. If still tied it comes down the standing list head-to-head

to the team with the next best over-all League record in the standings.

H. If a tie remains in “(1), (2), (3), above, then a coin flip shall resolve.

Head-to-Head Records for Close Teams

North

New Market and Purcellville: If they tie for 1st, they will be declared co-champs (New Market leads season series, 3-1, if you’re interested)

New Market and Strasburg: Rebels lead season series, 4-1 (With one game to play)

Strasburg and Winchester: Express have won the season, 3-2

South

This is crazy.

Harrisonburg and Staunton: Turks lead series, 3-2 (But they play tonight!)

Harrisonburg and Waynesboro: Tied, 3-3

Waynesboro and Staunton: Tied, 3-3

Soooo, if the Braves beat the Turks tonight, all three season series will be tied 3-3.

If the season series is tied, the next step is head to head against the #1 overall seed, which is Charlottesville.

Harrisonburg vs Charlottesville: 2-4
Staunton vs Charlottesville: 2-3 (With one game left)
Waynesboro vs Charlottesville: 2-4

So if the Tom Sox beat Staunton, all three teams will be 2-4 against the Tom Sox! The next step, if I’m reading this correctly, will come down to records against Purcellville.

Harrisonburg vs Purcellville: 0-3
Staunton vs Purcellville: 0-3
Waynesboro vs Purcellville: 2-1

So if the above scenarios are tied, and it comes down to record against Purcellville, Waynesboro will hold the tiebreaker over the Turks and Braves. If everything remains tied to the end, it looks like a coin flip will determine the seed for Harrisonburg and Staunton.

Hopefully these things will not be necessary, right? But here you go, Brilliant Reader; if any or all of these are needed, you’ll know the situation!